Employer-based health insurance: At the end of the line

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2008

Journal

Health Lawyer

Volume

Volume 20, Issue 4

Inclusive Pages

38-40

Keywords

Health Care Costs; Access to Health Care; Insurance

Abstract

As many companies find themselves in financial distress due to the amount they spend on health insurance for their employees, an increasing percentage of companies have stopped offering health insurance to their employees. In 2000, 69% of them offered health insurance; in 2006, 61% of companies did so. The number of individuals with employer-based health insurance had declined from 63% to 59% between 2000 and 2006. Approximately 177 million individuals had employer-based coverage in 2006, a decline of two million individuals since 2000, even with an increase in the Nation’s population. This decrease in private coverage may continue to grow, in part, from the “crowding out” effect. Crowding out occurs, when some employers, aware of past expansions in Medicaid, no longer continue to offer health insurance to their employees, leaving the cost of providing health coverage for their employees to the public sector.

Peer Reviewed

1

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